\n From October 8 to November 1, Sam Sopwith, from Candover Valley, will have 45 of her masterpieces in The Osborne Studio Gallery in London for her first solo exhibition in six years.\n<\/p>\n
\n The exhibition, which is largely centred around animals, features a range of media, from a bronze sculpture of a lion cleaning her paws, nude sketches and landscapes, to paintings of moving horses.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sam said: \u201cI love what I do, I\u2019m very lucky to do something I love.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI never get bored of it, I keep changing but my passion is always animals, there will always be a heavy African dominance in my work just because I love it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Artist Sam Sopwith in the studio(Image: Sam Sopwith)\n<\/p>\n
\n Sam mostly works from photographs she has taken, but recent travels saw her travel to Africa, where she was able to sculpt giraffes and elephants live, using plasticine.\n<\/p>\n
\n She laughed: \u201cThe elephant came up and smushed my sculpture, it did not give me its seal of approval.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt was so fun, you just pick up something in the field that you don\u2019t get in a studio, something extra that goes in if you\u2019re doing it in real life.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Her exhibition shows three years\u2019 worth of work, and for the first time, she was able to see all her masterpieces in one room.\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: \u201cIt\u2019s really weird for me seeing all of it up at the same time. It\u2019s quite satisfying, but my eye for detail will always pick up something I wish I could change.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Artist Sam Sopwith(Image: Sam Sopwith)\n<\/p>\n
\n Looking around the exhibition, Sam is reminded of the audiobooks and podcasts she was listening to when creating her masterpieces, with one lioness sculpture sparking the memory of \u2018the strangest audiobook where everyone was getting murdered.\u2019\n<\/p>\n
\n Sam confessed that she turns into \u2018a monster\u2019 if she\u2019s not creative, and she finds the freedom to be able to focus on something therapeutic, stemming from her childhood love of colouring.\n<\/p>\n
\n Alongside her passion for art, Sam also does commissioned work, with her clients including HRH Princess Alexandra and perfumer Jo Malone, although she is glad to have the freedom to indulge in her own work too.\n<\/p>\n
\n Lioness Grooming, bronze sculpture by Sam Sopwith(Image: Sam Sopwith)\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: \u201cIn commissions, there\u2019s a satisfaction of having captured what someone else sees in their animal.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThere\u2019s a freedom in working for yourself and not to please others, and I\u2019m lucky enough not to need to rely on it entirely.\n<\/p>\n
\n She quoted author Charlie Macerity, who said \u2018make sure you never just do commissions, you must work for yourself, otherwise your creativity will die.\u2019\n<\/p>\n